


Galaxies & Treasure Maps

by orphan_account



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Fluff, Freckles, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Kings Rising, others are mentioned - Freeform, this is so self-indulgent tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-06-04 16:44:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6666391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They finally go to the summer palace. Laurent gets freckles, Damen has a thing for them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Galaxies & Treasure Maps

**Author's Note:**

> An entirely self-indulgent piece of fluff without plot because I saw a fancast of Laurent with freckles.

It took a long time before Damen’s promise of a trip to the summer palace became reality. Wounds had to heal, alliances had to be made formal, taxes and councillors and slaves all had to be discussed. But eventually, when summer was almost over, a few days’ time had been found to leave the humid heat of the city and ride the few miles to where the olive groves came down right to the shore providing shade in the gardens of the airy summer palace.

They hadn’t taken a large retinue with them, a handful of guards and servants, and were travelling lightly. When Laurent had started packing his tight shirts and laced-up heavy jackets into a trunk Damen had stopped him immediately.

“It is still summer, you can go back to your stiff leathers and brocades when we leave for Arles next week. For now, indulge me. Please?”

Laurent, secretly preferring the lightness of chitons, had been happy to oblige, allowing Damen to help him out of his shirt and into one of the Akielon garments. They ended up being rather late for their meetings that day.

 

Today marked their fourth day of their holiday. Right on the first morning they decided not to speak of matters of state until their return having had to wait so long for their well-deserved rest even Laurent, much to Damen’s surprise, agreed that the world wouldn’t end if they took this time off. It did not work immediately, both often found their mind wandering to politics at every lull in their conversation but eventually these things moved to the back of their heads.

So far, they had spent most of their time lazing around, exploring the gardens, eating under the cool marble arches of the palace, spending whole days in bed until it got too warm and they went down to the secluded cove to go for a swim. This is where they were again now.

For Damen the water was warm enough but Laurent’s lips had turned blue after only a few minutes, so he maneuvered them onto one of the smooth rocks along the side of the small bay to let the sun dry them off. Laurent was lying back with his eyes closed, hair spread around him like a golden halo. A few last droplets of water still clung to his skin and made Damen look closer at his relaxed face.

“You’ve got freckles, did you know?”

Laurent’s eyes shot open.

“What?”

“Freckles, they’re the little spots you get in sum-“

“I am aware what freckles are, Damianos, I speak Akielon quite well as you might have noticed.” It was true, they only spoke in Damen’s language now and Laurent was fluent and had lost his accent almost completely.

“I have noticed, just like I have noticed the freckles on your nose.”

They were not even that noticeable, only a smattering of little dots around the tip of Laurent’s nose and along the tops of his cheeks. On Damen’s darker skin they wouldn’t have been visible but even after four days in the sun Laurent was still as pale as always. It was only thanks to the protecting salve Paschal had made sure to give him that he hadn’t burned.

“I like them, they look beautiful on you.”

As always when Damen gave him an honest compliment such as this one Laurent turned a subtle shade of pink, the change of colour too sudden to be from exposure to the sun.

“They look like constellations. Maybe one of the women down at the port who read the stars can read them.”

“You are ridiculous”, Laurent said with a fond smile playing on his lips.

He pushed himself up then and began to climb down the rock back towards the water. As much as he was slowly getting used to Damen’s compliments his two most common reactions were still diversion or escape, and he chose the latter one this time.

“Come on, I’m warm enough now. I want to go for another swim.”

Instead of following him down the side of the rock Damen took a few steps back and fell into a run. A moment later he was soaring through the air and hit the water with a splash and a loud laugh.

 

The topic came up again when they were having dinner on the balcony outside their bedroom. There was a dining hall downstairs but since there were no nobles to entertain they decided to opt for a more relaxed setting. It also allowed Damen to sit with his chiton unpinned pooling loosely around his waist, the evening breeze comfortably cool on his chest. He sat at the table sipping sweet wine while Laurent was perched on the balcony railing, a plate balanced on his thighs, one sandal-clad foot dangling in the air, the other tucked underneath himself.

“Auguste had freckles.” He said it softly, eyes on the dark trees rustling below not looking at Damen. They spoke of their brothers sometimes, Laurent more of Auguste than Damen tended to bring up Kastor, even the few fond memories he had of him spoiled by what happened only so recently. It was always ground that demanded careful treading but sooner or later anyway it would need to be crossed anyway.

"He always had them, even in the middle of winter but in summer they multiplied from hundreds into thousands." Laurent laughed. It was going to be a happy story then.

"What is it?" Damen asked, itching to get up to join him on the railing but not quite sure if it would be a wise move, the situation still felt delicate somehow.

"One time a girl he was chasing, it must’ve been when he was about sixteen or seventeen maybe, told him she didn't like his freckles. ‘You look like when my baby sisters’ governess when one of the younger ones has spits her food all over her’, is what she told him I think. So every night before bed he washed his face with lemon juice he made them bring up to his rooms. A servant had told him it would make his freckles go away.”

Laurent was full on laughing now, shoulders shaking and eyes glinting with mirth.

“After a week father summoned him, asking if he wanted to perhaps seek a physician about his ‘fiery skin condition’ because his quack treatments had turned his whole face bright red. He stopped pretty quickly after that. The freckles stayed but his skin didn't, it all peeled off, he had to hide in his rooms for days.”

"What happened with the girl?" Damen asked eagerly.

Laurent shot him an amused look.

“Of course that’s what you would ask, no one could care more about love than you. By the time he had overcome his peeling skin and hurt ego she had travelled back to Patras where she was from. I am sorry to deprive you of a magical love story.”

“Don’t worry, I think I am quite content with my own.”

It was later in the warm light of the candles lit around their bedroom that Damen discovered even more of the tiny freckles dotting Laurent’s skin. There were exactly seventeen around his left elbow counted reverently by Damen with a hushed voice. From his elbow he moved onto his shoulders. The finest difference between the skin usually covered by his chiton and the one constantly exposed to the sun. Strong yet subtle muscles rippled suddenly when Damen’s lips made contact with the soft skin.

“More freckles”, was all he said.

Perhaps not the most eloquent he had ever been but there was only so much you could expect from a man with his lover in front of him discovering something completely new. Even if it was something as minimal as the effects of a week of laying in the sun. He pressed his cheek to Laurent’s shoulder blade now who could feel the flutter of eyelashes on his back. A happy sigh escaped him before he could stop himself and made Damen smile with his eyes still closed.

“I look like one of those dishes you like so much, the ones with cinnamon on top. Speckled cream.”

It was often like this, Laurent letting go for only the blink of an eye, followed immediately by a comment to regain control. Damen did not mind.

“I think you look beautiful like this, with galaxies on your cheeks and coded treasure maps on your shoulders”, Damen replied softly, lips moving against Laurent’s skin.

His fingers trailed softly along a path only known to him, connecting the freckles like dots on paper. Eventually his hand slid lower, down from Laurent’s shoulder counting every one of his ribs which were beginning to move faster than usual, accompanied by hitched breaths. From his position behind him Damen’s hand trailed even further and came to rest again, the contrast between his large hand and Laurent’s small waist accentuated by their difference in colouring.

He could feel Laurent getting ready to speak as if he had developed a sixth sense for oncoming sarcasm but the words never came when Damen moved his hand even lower and around Laurent’s body.

 

When eventually they could no longer shirk their responsibilities they rode back to Ios in the early morning light before the sun would make two hours on horseback unbearable. The dusty road led first between golden wheat fields dotted with bright blue corn flowers.

“Oh look, gold dotted with blue”, Laurent said turning towards Damen on his horse. A grin stretched his face and Damen knew he was about to make a terrible joke he thought impossibly funny.

“Maybe you should take this field as a lover instead of me, it certainly appeals to your tastes.”

“You know”, said Damen. “Maybe I will, it would give you more time to spend with Nikandros which you’ve clearly been doing too much of recently.”

It was true, after a rocky start the two of them had struck up a careful friendship, solidified when Nikandros had refused to believe that Laurent could out-drink him. Laurent ended up carrying him back to his quarters where he dumped a bucket of ice water over his head (“Helps with the hangover!”) after an impressive five cups of griva. Nikandros was also the only person to ever joke about Damen’s affinity for fair hair and light eyes, something he had clearly passed on.

“Alright, but before you take this field into your bed”, Laurent said with a laugh pressing his feet into his horse’s sides and taking off, “You’re going to race me across it!”

Despite his advantage of a few moments it didn’t take long for Damen to catch up, his horse bigger and stronger and by the time they reached the other side of the field they had slowed down to a relaxed trot. Wild lemon trees dotted its borders with their fruits hanging just low enough to be picked from the back of a horse. With a few in hand he turned his horse and approached Laurent.

“Catch!” He caught all three without faltering.

“In case you ever wish to rid yourself of your freckles.”

“No, seeing as they reduce you to a pile of mush I think I’d like to keep them. Perhaps I will take up juggling though.”

It took only a second for him to drop the lemons in his attempt to juggle them.

“Or not. I suppose I will be quite busy anyway ruling two kingdoms soon while you sit there and stare adoringly and stare at the, what did you call them? Galaxies on my cheeks?”

As always, his needling came with fondness lacing his voice and a soft smile on his face which Damen returned.

“It will be one kingdom soon.”

Laurent replied only with a wordless smile and then took off in a gallop back across the field but not before throwing the last lemon he had managed not to drop precisely at Damen’s face.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on [tumblr](http://verinism.tumblr.com) too, come say hi!


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